What is Bob Doda doing? IV

Currently, I'm listening to Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel because my men's league ice hockey team just got bumped from the playoff picture for the third consecutive season. Knights hockey has no reached a new low, and I'm a little sad about it.

Anyway. Now that you're all in a good mood, I'll tell you about my new, exciting career. I'm working in the editorial newsroom at the Newsday offices in Melville. I'm working a 6 hour day; imputing information from press releases that wind up in the part II "Explore Long Island" section of the paper and on the Newsday website. At the same time, I still have the Futurecorps articles published bi-weekly...sometimes tri-weekly. This is not exactly what I want to do at Newsday. I know I can do much more, but my foot is literally in the door. Start small, think big. Last year at this time, I was pushing amalgam separators (don't ask) to dentists. Now, I'm on my way to being the next Walter Cronkite.

Due to labor laws, I was not able to keep my job at News 12 Interactive because Cablevision is the parent company of both entities. So, it was either temp at News 12 or get guaranteed hours at Newsday. I don't think I had much of a choice.

So, I'm still at home. Cliche basement room/lounge and three squares a day. Everyone I know is moving in with their boyfriend/girlfriends and if you're Greg Scandariato, you're asking long-time girlfriend Emily for her hand in marriage. My best friend on the planet, who I need to see more of, is tying the knot. Same goof ball, new responsibilities. Dogwood STAND UP. I guess I'm just not ready to make these commitments.

At this point, I'm just glad the winter is over. Is there anything worse than being cold? Mid-Spring/Early Summer...hoodie and shorts featuring flops...light t-shirt + jeans featuring flops...there is nothing better. I would never survive in the Yukon Territory.

(Speaking of jeans) I had a notion the other day at 'Overtime', a pub near my Smithtown home. 97% of the people there on this particular Friday night were wearing denim jeans; all different shades of blue. Since when did jeans corner the market for the planet? Does anybody else think it's strange that jeans seem to be the only option for people off the clock (myself included)? If I remember correctly, greasers in the 50's were rocking jeans, so I guess they are to blame. You never hear about jeans in the 30's or 40's. Just an unimportant, not exactly funny observation.

I haven't exactly reached Madoff numbers yet, but I'm trying. Until then, enjoy these pictures of New York City during St. Patty's Day.

Thoughts from the lunch break

I'm in the News 12 Interactive offices in Woodbury eating fresh pineapple and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Some thoughts:

- Sean Avery returns to the New York Rangers after being released by Dallas. It should be interesting to see how MSG and opposing players react to this development. If it were up to me, he would have been a blueshirt at the beginning of the season.

- I decided to submit my resume to NBC for their 'news associate' year-long program. It would be 'the dream'. I would mentored and assistant to an NBC NEWS reporter. They will probably get 100,000 resumes but you have to be in it to win it.

- Kids are getting hipper. A blonde I know told me that she saw a bunch of 5-year-olds skateboarding while blackberrying the other day. They had hair product and were listening to 'Shiny Toy Guns'. When I was 5, my life was Cris Cross Crash.

- I've been getting printed in Newsday in the Part II section every two weeks through the 'Futurecorps' program. If you subscribe or see a Newsday, you should probably check it out.

- Derek Downing gets married in T-Minus 4 days. Unbelievable. Seems like only yesterday we were going stag to the junior prom in a stretch '57 Chevy. Good Luck, D-Block. You too, Janine.

- Daniel Day Lewis is the greatest actor of my generation.

- I don't know one person that saw Slumdog Millionare.

- My men's league ice hockey team stinks. It's tough times for the Knights. We have a core of committed players (myself included). But all of our superstars only show up when it's convenient for them. Who cares if the games are at 2AM in Kings Park? Where's your heart at. Follow the knights at www.midnighthockey.com

- Spring is practically hours away and their is 14 feet of snow on the ground. Heavy snow, not the powdered sugar type. Here I am with sunblock on my nose and a corona...I step outside with my umbrella and beach ball...and it's snowing. All I want is some flops on my feet and 212 degrees Kelvin in the air. I'm sorry to say but I am pro-global warming.

Top 3 types of Pizza
- Buffalo Chicken with Bleu Cheese
- White
- Sausage/Roni

- Phish plays their first show in five years on Friday, March 6 at the Hampton Coliseum in Virginia.

I have to get back to work. Enjoy your week and remember:

Sometimes you shine the box, sometimes the box shines you.

Tom Renney gets the big ugly ax

It seems like everyone is losing their jobs these days. Renney has now been added to that list after a 5 year career as the Rangers head coach. The news came Monday afternoon after a awful stretch of hockey for the Blueshirts. Why did Tom Renney lose his job:

1) No offense. What Tom had to work with was a team of young grinders and older playmakers. Who are the guys that are going to put the puck in the net? Where are the natural goal scorers? Oh wait. They are playing in Siberia. (Jagr, Straka)

2) One of the worst powerplay operations in hockey history. Nothing infuriates fans and boosts opponents confidence like the debacle that is the Rangers powerplay. Renny and Perry Pearn never figured out how to adjust. (I won't even mention the 13 shorthanded goals already given up this year...)

3) New York City was calling for his head. The pressure of performing on the world's largest and greatest stage took its toll. Once you start getting booed and confidence among core fans is gone, it's almost always time to ship out. (Ask Tom Poti, Marek Malik and soon to be Michael Rozival)

As a former season-ticket holder for the NYR during the Renney years, I never had a problem with him at all. He is fourth all-time for wins as a Ranger coach. He was the most liked coach since Mike Keenan of 1994. He was laid back and played Neil Diamond for the team after wins. I met him at Casino Night 2008 briefly in passing:

"Hey Tom, section 409. You're doin a good job."
"409, I have to have a beer with you guys sometime."
"That would be nice. Good luck."
"We'll get it done."

I think Renney got the short end of the Sather stick. They shouldn't have let Jagr, Straka, Shanahan or Sean Avery out of the Big Apple and Renney paid the price.

For Derek Downing...

I forgot where we were but we saw this Allen Iverson commercial a few years ago. We might have been in the Matrix at the time. But it's the hardest commercial to ever hit television. Enjoy.

Christian Bale: The Coolest Man in America

Unless you have been on Neptune for the last five days, the best piece of media to hit the interwebs has been the four and half minute Christian Bale meltdown toward his Director of Photography on the set of 'Terminator Salvation', the fourth installment of the epic series. I'm guessing Bale plays John Connor, leader of the rebellion against the machines; a role made famous by Edward Furlong in T2 (and the kid that gets clapped in American History X, spoiler alert). Anyway, this is unbelievable audio. It's everything you want to hear in a obscenity laced rant (threats of bodily harm, sarcasm, condescending questions, etc). Personally, I agree with him. Nobody likes it when some guy is milling around during a scene. Bale is in-charge of making this movie a multi-million dollar success and its a lot of pressure. This is so funny, I can't bring myself to say that he's just a rich dick.

Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INeDYTdTgfU&feature=rec-HM-fresh+div

P.S. There are 39 F***s

Who wants to go to Tenneessee? June 11-14

Offic​ial festi​val websi​te is www. bonna​roo.​ com2009
Bonna​roo Music​ and Arts Festi​val Confi​rmed Artis​ts:​
Bruce​ Sprin​gstee​n and the E Stree​t BandPhish​ (2 Shows​)​Beast​ie BoysNine Inch Nails​David​ Byrne​Wilco​Al Green​Snoop​ DoggElvis​ Coste​llo SoloEryka​h BaduPaul Oaken​foldBen Harpe​r and Relen​tless​7The Mars Volta​TV on the Radio​Yeah Yeah Yeahs​Gov’t​ MuleAndre​w BirdMerle​ Hagga​rdMGMTmoe.The Decem​beris​tsGirl TalkBon IverBéla Fleck​ & Touma​ni Diaba​teRodri​go y Gabri​elaGalac​ticThe Del McCou​ry Bandof Montr​ealAllen​ Touss​aintCohee​d and Cambr​iaBooke​r T & the DBTsDavid​ Grism​an Quint​etLucin​da Willi​amsAnima​l Colle​ctive​Gomez​Neko CaseDownJenny​ Lewis​Santo​goldRober​t Earl KeenCitiz​en CopeFemi Kuti and the Posit​ive Force​The Ting Tings​Robyn​ Hitch​cock & The Venus​ 3Grace​ Potte​r and the Noctu​rnals​Kaki KingGrizz​ly BearKing Sunny​ AdéOkker​vil River​St. Vince​ntZac Brown​ BandRapha​el Saadi​qTed Leo and the Pharm​acist​sCryst​al Castl​esTift Merri​ttBrett​ Denne​nMike Farri​s and the Rosel​and Rhyth​m Revue​Touba​b Krewe​Peopl​e Under​ the Stair​sAleja​ndro Escov​edoVieux​ Farka​ Touré​Elvis​ Perki​ns In Dearl​andCherr​yholm​esYeasa​yer

P.S. I'm sorry if this is becoming a music/phish blog. That's the last thing I want. I'll tell a story or two soon.

Harry Hood and UFO's

Trey Anastasio of 'Phish' wrote Harry Hood because there was a huge HOOD sign across the street from his apartment in the late 80's. It read: "You can feel good about Hood," and if you have drank milk in the last 100 years or been to a grocery store, you have seen Hood gallons before. So, I won this Myspace/Youtube contest and The McLovin's learned and practiced 'Harry Hood' in Bob Doda's honor. If you can't stand Phish, fast forward to the very end to hear the shout out I get. Honestly, it's a thrill.

Check it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ro4YQpa3NRs - The McLovin's - Harry Hood

Original post in Digibook I: http://digibook3000.blogspot.com/2009/01/my-15-minutes-will-come-in-8-years.html

Let's talk Obama UFO for 2 seconds....

First watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P68N6OpoaN4&feature=related

Now, I feel the same way Mulder did on the X-Files... I want to believe. I think this is staggering footage. Some theories I have heard:

1) It's a bird.

2) CNN made this themselves to create internet traffic at a time when competition between networks is tooth and nail.....especially on Inauguration Day.

3) It's little green god damn men.

If you have any other theories be my guest to comment. What a fascinating story it would be if it were real.